


it's always summer in the songs

by NoStringsOnMe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/M, Minor Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Modern Era, One Shot, POV Lily Evans Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 10:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20834312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoStringsOnMe/pseuds/NoStringsOnMe
Summary: This got Prongs’ attention. He rounded on her, sized her up. And Lily finally got a good look at his face. There was something familiar about him but she couldn’t quite place it. She knew those eyes, the curve of the jaw, the cheeky, lopsided grin he was now shooting her way. Where had she seen him before?





	it's always summer in the songs

The convention centre was packed to the gunnels and roasting hot. Estimates for the day said that they were expecting at least 15,000 people to pass through and it was on this day that the air conditioning had decided to pack it in. Did this seem to bother the countless people decked out in extravagant cosplay that passed by the Flourish and Blotts’ booth? Not in the slightest. Their makeup wasn’t even running.

This, however, was not the case for one Lily Evans. Her sundress stuck to her back and her carefully braided hair was now coming loose and frizzing at her temples. Sandals, in retrospect, had been a terrible idea. They cut across at the most awkward angles and offered no support to her aching feet. She had been standing for at least six hours already and regretted not wearing trainers.

Laid out across the table in front of her were piles and piles of glossy, brightly coloured graphic novels and comic books. Business had been steady. People meandered by and she drew them in with the lure of free comic samples. There was a bit of back and forth usually and if they met her eye then maybe she’d get a sale. Nine times out of ten if their gaze slid past hers then the sale was doomed from the start. To her left, her colleague and good friend, Marlene McKinnon, was talking animatedly with a small, squat man in his early twenties dressed as Jon Snow. His cheap, shiny wig was crooked and kept falling into his eyes, but he was so captivated by Marlene’s dazzling smile and wild hands that he didn’t seem to mind.

“So, if you get these three together in the deal, then you save almost £10 which is a bang-up deal if you ask me,” she rattled off and the man just nodded, a glazed look sweeping over his face as he regarded the books he was holding, as if he was unsure of how they had got there in the first place.

Lily smirked to herself. Jon Snow was a goner. Marlene was very good at her job in a way that Lily could only hope to emulate one day.

“Oi, Pete, what are you doing spending all your money on this?” came a loud voice from across the aisle. “You know you’re just going to buy them and then never read them. Ever. And then they’ll just sit, gathering dust in Pads’ flat when you inevitably leave them there tonight.”

The voice belonged to Robb Stark. Or at least someone dressed remarkably like him. He was tall, broad shouldered and had a head of unruly black hair. Nestled amongst his curls was a burnished bronze crown that had nine spikes shaped like longswords. A fur lined cloak hung off his shoulders, sweeping the floor, and at his hip was a sword branded with the Stark direwolf. It was all rather impressive. Particularly when standing next to his friend’s more rudimentary outfit.

“Leave off, Prongs. Since when did you become my mother,” Jon Snow tutted, throwing his friend a filthy look and clutching his books a little tighter to his chest.

“I expect you to give me a full book report on them once you’ve finished. Give ‘em a star rating and everything,” he drawled, leafing through one of the books with a practised disinterest.

“Well if he leaves his review somewhere like Amazon or our website, then we’d be most appreciative,” piped up Lily, a coy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, unable to resist.

This got Robb’s, or rather, Prongs’ attention. He rounded on her, sized her up. And Lily finally got a good look at his face. There was something familiar about him but she couldn’t quite place it. She knew those eyes, the curve of the jaw, the cheeky, lopsided grin he was now shooting her way. Where had she seen him before?

“In that case, perhaps we should give you a shout out now then? What do you say Peter?”

Peter scowled and rolled his eyes but nodded. With a huff, he gave Marlene a few notes and told her to keep the change.

“Hey, Moony! Get over here would you!” he bellowed. From a few stalls down, a man in a purple doublet and billowy cream shirt which was open at the neck looked up from his in-depth examination of some rose quartz dice.

He meandered over, tugging at the hand of another man who wore the gold, antlered crown of Renly Baratheon. As the pair drew closer, Lily realised that tawny haired man in purple could only be dressed as Loras Tyrell, the doublet was covered in a subtle rose pattern and there was a large rose brooch on his left breast.

“What is it Prongs?” he sighed but there was the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Take this, would you?" he said, throwing his phone towards Loras with a careless flourish.

Loras, to his credit, was quick off the mark, snatching it from mid-air with surprising deftness, as if he was familiar with catching stuff with little to no preparation. Renly just smirked, his dark eyes glittering with barely contained amusement.

"Alright, Peter, James, you're live. Tell the people what they're missing," said Loras in a deadpan voice, holding up the phone towards his friends.

What followed was a chaotic mix of yelling, gesturing wildly with a selection of books, and perhaps most alarmingly an impromptu burst of song. It should have been a mess. But between the two of them, it was hilarious. And then it clicked.

"Oh my god," breathed Lily, finally realising where she knew this boy from. Her exclamation caught his attention, drawing him away from his phone. "I follow you. Your Instagram, your Twitter, they're fucking hilarious. You run the Marauders page, right?”

She swivelled her head between the four boys. They were grinning from ear to ear. Their cosplays melted away and she was finally able to recognise them.

“Peter Petigrew, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and, of course, James Potter,” she said, pointing to each of them in turn. “I almost didn’t recognise you.”

“Always nice to meet a fan, eh Prongs. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” Sirius nudged James in the ribs and pretended to fan himself.

“Seeing it in person – I didn’t twig. We loved your Game of Thrones videos during the last season, didn’t we Marl.” Lily grasped for her friend’s arm, filled with the sudden desire to draw her into the conversation so she wasn’t the sole focus of the boys’ attention.

“What? Oh! Yeah. The ‘Robb Stark wouldn’t stand for this’ series was our favourite. Mary giffed it all, remember? Christ on a bike, they’re still our go-to reaction gifs for almost everything,” Marlene babbled.

This got their attention. Remus gravitated towards her, asking quiet questions about the giffing process, the whys and how of choosing what to use. Peter followed, eager and inquisitive, more interested in knowing what jokes worked and what didn’t. James and Sirius hung back. Sirius glowed with affection as he watched his two friends pepper Marlene with question after question, his handsome features soft. James, however, had fixed Lily with a thoughtful gaze, his warm hazel eyes narrowed in thought.

“You know,” he started, sauntering back up to her. “We don’t have a Sansa. We could use a Sansa.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. Be our Sansa. She’d be a great Sansa, right Padfoot?”

“Oh yeah. Got the hair for it and everything.”

“Wouldn’t need a wig.”

“Save some money.”

“Think Andromeda could whip up a coronation gown?”

“Mate, she had the coronation gown ready to go three days after the finale aired.”

“Just needs the body.”

“Just needs the body.”

Lily could barely keep up. The two boys seemed to communicate on some deeper level where they spoke exclusively in fragments that the other understood perfectly.

“What do you say? You could get a starring role,” said James, voice honey sweet and wheedling as he tapped his chin with a finger.

"But you don't even know my name," Lily pointed out, somewhat confused by the turn of events.

“Are you an axe murderer?" asked James.

"No." 

"Or a hag intent on feasting on our flesh?" countered Sirius.

"No." 

"Or could you be the worst thing of all?" James paused for dramatic effect, his voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "A Tory."

"Na, that's just Pads' family!" shouted Peter, his head poking up from behind Remus, a shit eating grin spread across his face.

"Fuck off Wormtail," Sirius shot back, upper lip curling in a way that wasn't nearly as playful as the rest of the exchange.

Lily snickered. "Certainly not. I don't think I've ever met a Tory who works as a bookseller for an independent comic book company."

"See! Who needs a name when we have this kind of information!" exclaimed James. "What do you say? Meet us for a drink when you're done and we can get to know each other a bit better. Maybe we can even get on a first name basis before we enlist you for our videos."

Lily hesitated. James grinned, eyes aflame. She should say no, say she has a mountain of work and an early start. Which was all true. But she didn’t. Instead she nodded, said yes and took this boy's number, scrawled on the back of the receipt for three funkos and a hand-painted set of tarot cards.

As they turned to leave with cheery promises that they’d see her later, James threw her a wink over his shoulder. And Lily was surprised at the heat that rose in her cheeks. She busied herself with flyers and and straightening piles of books, allowing herself a small, secret smile.

*** 

The bar was just around the corner from the convention centre. The Leaky Cauldron was more traditional pub than bar, dark and slightly musty, the scent of cigarette smoke still lingering from before the smoking ban. Stained glass windows let in a kaleidoscope of light, dappling the tables with red, blue, and yellow. Pewter tankards hung above the dark wood bar and a dazzling array of alcohol in old fashioned glass bottles was on display in front of a slightly warped and spotty mirror. Each of the little round tables had a narrow, green glass bottle in the middle that held a single flower.

Lily found the Marauders crammed into a tiny booth, tankards and steins littering the table. They were dishevelled and flushed. Peter had discarded his wig, it lay, spidery and matted on the chair next to him and he’d stolen James’ crown. Remus and Sirius were cosied up with one another, Sirius with his arm slung nonchalantly around Remus’ shoulders. Their doublets were open at the throat and Remus’ eyes were drooping. Out of the lot of them, James seemed the most put together. Pink spots bloomed high on his cheeks and he had a dopey, crinkly eyed smile as he watched his friends, yet despite this, he didn’t appear drunk. He spoke animatedly, without slurring and his eyes were sharp.

A cheer went up as she appeared before them.

“You came!” James was on his feet, chair scraping behind him. He went to reach for her, as if to draw her in for a hug but then seemed to think better of it and his arms fell limply back to his sides.

“I said that I would, didn’t I?”

This earned her a beaming, megawatt smile.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“Please. Gin and tonic,” she said as she slid into a spare seat.

As James tried to clamber out from the booth, his cloak became tangled in his legs and he went careening into the next table, sending their drinks flying. He ducked the occupants’ hurled insults, promising to buy them a new round, and scurried to the bar. Sirius howled with laughter, pounding his fist on the table.

Remus stirred, eyes flitting to Lily. He gave her a sweet, vacant smile and turned to whisper something in Sirius’ ear. The pub was too noisy for her to hear what he said but next thing she knew the other boys were standing and making excuses to leave. Remus was swaying, eyes lazy and drifting.

“He’s a lightweight. Can’t take more than a few,” laughed Sirius, propping him up. “Best to take him home before something terrible happens. Tell Prongs would ya; he’s balls deep in the queue and I’m not shouting for him.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” said Lily.

“Cheers. Nice to meet you No Name. Say goodbye, Moony.”

“G’bye.”

“Say goodbye Peter.”

“Goodbye Peter.”

“You’re a twat, you know that, right? Bye!’

And with that, they left.

She chewed her lip, watching as they ambled away. Sirius had his arm wrapped tightly around Remus’ middle and Peter trotted behind them, eager to carry on talking. He still wore the sword spiked crown. Lily shifted in her seat. She didn’t know if she wanted stay if it was just her. 

“Fuck,” she breathed, eyes darting, trying to see where James was, to see if she had enough time to slip away.

But then she thought better of it. She’d agreed to a drink, so she’d stay. With considerable effort she sat still and observed the crowd at the bar. If it wasn’t for them, the median age would be much higher but even then there were more than a few tables crowded with people decked out in cosplay. She recognised most of them, there were plenty of Batmans and Supermans swaggering around, almost spilling their pints but every so often there was a character or two that she didn’t know and assumed that they came from obscure animes she’d never heard of. 

James reappeared with drinks in hand and a grin on his face five minutes after his friends had left. The wattage of his dazzling smile faltered for a few seconds when his eyes alighted on the empty booth. It made Lily feel small and self conscious. It just being her and all the empty glasses, it was painfully obvious that the others had left him. 

“Those bar stewards,” sighed James, slumping into the booth. He slid her gin and tonic across to her and took a deep draught of his beer, the head sticking to his top lip in a frothy, white mustache. “Did Sirius insist on leaving because you arrived?”

“No, I think your friend just had one too many,” Lily replied. This, as far as she knew was the truth. Remus had barely been able to keep his eyes open and had been swaying something terrible. Bed and a whole lot of water were the only things he needed. 

Except this answer made James shake his head, a rueful smile snaking its way onto his lips. 

“They’re good, you know. Very good. So good I didn’t even notice,” he chuckled. “Moony doesn’t drink. Upsets his stomach. Gets ill off a shandy that one. He’s jet lagged, only just back from America. He’s been up for 36 hours.”

“Oh.” 

“Yes.”

Bristling with the realisation of exactly  _ why _ his friends had suddenly upped and left, Lily busied herself with her gin. It was crisp, sweet and delightfully cold. Condensation dribbled down the side of the glass and pooled at its base, soaking into the papery coaster. It was a welcome distraction from the boy now sitting next to her. Lily let her hair fall over her shoulder and shield her face from his. From here, she could observe him safely for a moment; see how his hands were never still, always searching for something to touch, to stroke, to worry at; see the way his laugh stayed on his face as a vibrant memory in the creases of his mouth and eyes. He radiated a golden heat, like a summer sunset. It drenched her and drew her in. Though she stayed rooted to her seat, she could feel herself being pulled in closer and closer. 

“So tell me, how did you get into the whole video thing?” she asked when she could take the silence no longer.

James considered this for a moment, running one long finger up and down the side of his glass. 

“No real reason. We were bored and looking for something to do and we already had some cosplays. That’s how we met actually. I needed something made that I couldn’t do myself and I found Andy -- Andromeda, Sirius’ cousin -- the seamstress,” he explained, eyes shiny, eager to share. “And I walk in, arms piled high with fabric, trying to explain what it is I need her to do and Sirius comes bursting in bollock-naked demanding to know what’s happened to his codpiece.”

“No! That did not happen. In front of his cousin?”

“Sirius is very confident and he doesn’t  _ care _ .”

They laughed, eyes meeting for just a moment before skittering away.

“It was an instant connection, like we’d known each other for years,” he continued. “And then we were messing about one day and the idea just came to us. One thing led to another and it blew up.”

“Come on, it couldn’t have been that easy,” said Lily, incredulous. “You don’t just stumble onto that kind of success.”

James ducked his head, suddenly bashful, one hand running through his hair. 

“No, that’s true. We work hard on it. They’re all brilliant. Peter is the real mastermind though, writes most of the scripts. Me and Sirius just execute the genius,” he insisted.

“Sounds to me like you’re selling yourself short.” Lily bumped her shoulder against his. His laugh was like the crackle of burning logs and it made her feel just as warm.

Their conversation was easy, flipping back and forth from topic to topic. In exchange for stories about his video making, she gave him tales of comic books, of bleary eyed phone calls at 3 am with artists and writers in a panic because something had ‘gone terribly wrong’, because there was always something that had gone terribly wrong and she was the only one that could fix it. He told her about his parents; who had him too late and whose ailing health was now a constant worry. She offered her sister in return: Petunia with her acerbic tongue and words that cut deeper than any knife. 

They never strayed too far into the deep, murky waters of the profoundly personal but they dipped a toe in here or there. Except, Lily wanted more. She recognised the urge to pour out her heart to this man, to lay herself bare before him. As for James, she wanted to unwrap him, body and soul. With each sidelong glance she felt herself pulled in further and further. 

This time, however, she hadn’t been able to keep her distance. They sat close, legs and shoulders flush.

“You know,” he said several hours and several drinks later. “You still haven’t told me your name.”

His head lolled against the back of the booth, face turned towards her. He drank her in, eyes flickering over her face, slow and deliberate so that she knew exactly what he was looking at.

Lily considered this for moment. It was true. They had gone all this time and still she hadn’t told him. Part of her liked the mystery. Perhaps she wouldn’t tell him and they’d part ways forever. Then she could live on in his memory as the mysterious redhead that got away. It was tempting. But what gave her a bigger thrill was the possibility of seeing him again. And to do that, he would need her name.

“My name’s Lily. Lily Evans.”

“Well, Lily Evans, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” he said and held out his hand.

She was surprised to find that although his palm was warm and dry, it was also rough and calloused. He clasped her hand with a sure, firm grip: neither too tight nor too loose. 

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Potter,” she purred.

Still with their hands together, Lily leaned towards him. Her head rested on the back of the booth and she considered James. His eyes were heavy and droopy, the alcohol and the day now beginning to take their toll. She felt the same, a little lightheaded and just buzzed enough that she could either stop and be fine or continue and guarantee a sore head in the morning. The pub was quieter now. The Bat and Supermen from earlier had long since left and only a few diehards remained, propped up at the bar. Somewhere in the distance a bell tolled midnight.

“I should really get going,” she murmured, tearing herself away from James’ face.

She turned this way and that, staring through the mists of booze for her bag. Where was it? Was it hiding from her? Yes, she thought. It was hiding. That was the only explanation. 

No. There is was. Under the chair. 

“Do you live far?” James was slurring, each word falling heavy from his lips. 

“Naw, just around the corner really.”

“Can I walk you home?”

“How very gentlemanly of you.”

“S’not an answer.”

“Sure you can.”

Compared to the Leaky Cauldron’s muggy, sweaty heat, outside was cool and a sharp wind cut through the streets. Lily shivered. Her light summer dress and denim jacket were useless; not even the alcohol could keep her warm. Without a word, James swept his fur lined cloak off his shoulders and onto hers. When she protested, he waved her off. He ran warm, he told her, winking.

In truth, she didn’t really live ‘just around the corner’. It was closer to a 20 minute walk at a brisk pace. At a slightly drunken stumble, it was closer to 30. James didn’t seem to mind this. The midnight air had revived him, Lily too. Walking along the quiet streets, her head felt much clearer and had stopped its woozy dance.

“Say, would you do it?” asked James, his question catching her off guard. 

“Do what?” She frowned, not following. They had been talking about upcoming video game releases they were looking forward to.

“Be in our videos?” He shot her a slightly sheepish look, like he was unsure if he should really be asking. Underneath the veneer of nervousness, Lily could see hope glimmering in his eyes.

“Oh, I don’t know. I hadn’t actually thought about it much.” This wasn’t quite true. She had in fact spent quite a while entertaining the thought before meeting the boys after her shift. “I’m not much of an actress.”

“Neither is Peter and you think that that stops him?” James laughed and bumped her shoulder. Their fingers brushed

“He’s not that bad,” Lily snickered. 

“Now, maybe. You should have seen him in the beginning,” he insisted. “There’s a whole archive of videos that will never see the light of day from back when we first started. We were all pretty terrible.”

“Practise makes perfect I suppose.”

They were quiet for a few moments. Lily’s flat was only a few streets away. As they walked their hands kept bumping together until eventually, Lily took his hand in hers. James’ palm was hot despite the cool night. 

“So will you do it?” he asked softly, looking down at their interlaced fingers as they turned onto Lily’s street.

“No,” she said after another moment of consideration. She hadn’t lied, she really wasn’t much of an actress and the last thing she wanted was for that to be immortalised online forever and always. James deflated and tried to pull away. She held on, stopping and turning him to face her. “ _ But _ I would like to see you again.”

“Really?” He was eager, leaning forward ever so slightly.

“Yes.”

“See me again as in like a - a --”

“A date.” The words fell like a ten tonne anvil from her mouth and seemed to land with just as deafening a crash.

From where they stood, Lily could see the front door to her flat and that the living room window on the third floor was illuminated by numerous lamps and the flickering blue light of a TV. Marlene was up. She brought her attention back to James who still hadn’t said anything. He stood like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes flickered back and forth, not looking at anything in particular as he tried to process what she had asked him. 

“If you need time to think about it, you have my number. I won’t be offended,” she said, laughing to try and lighten the mood. 

“No!” he cried, tugging on her hand. “I mean . . . yes. I’d like to see you again too.”

Lily beamed.

“Walk me to my door?” 

James conceded, letting her pull him towards her flat and up the three steps to the door. Once ensconced in the doorway, they faced each other. 

“So. This is where you live,” mused James, gesturing vaguely and pretending to take great interest in the flaking blue paint job. 

“Most nights, yes,” she said with a coy smile. 

James laughed, throaty and low. Their fingers remained intertwined at their sides. Lily edged closer, caught once more in his gravity. Her eyes lingered on his mouth and when she glanced back up she saw that his eyes were fixed on hers. 

“Well, thank you for a lovely evening. Until next time,” he said. 

But he didn't move. Instead he took a step closer to her. Lily could feel his breath on her face and the tightening in her throat as her own hitched. Without thinking, she closed the distance between them and pulled James into a deep kiss. 

Her hands slid up his chest and lost themselves in his hair and he pulled her close, one arm locked around her waist, the other pressed firmly between her shoulder blades. Although the kiss was soft and lingering, a hunger raged just underneath, barely contained. Lily longed to pull him closer, to push him against the wall, to tug and tear and to fall so far into the embrace she would forget her own name. It was like standing on the precipice of a boundless void.

“Until next time,” she breathed when they finally broke apart. 

They stood in the stoop, foreheads pressed together, breathing uneven for some time. Eventually, however, she untangled herself from him, returned the fur lined cloak to its rightful owner and let herself into the building with a quiet goodnight and a fleeting smile. 

The last she saw of James Potter before the door swung shut was him silhouetted by the watery orange light of the street lamps, grinning and running his hands through his hair, face upturned to the night ,  victorious and glowing. 

  
In the secluded darkness of the hallway, Lily leaned against the door, giddy and full of bright pulsing light. She touched her mouth. It still tingled with the heat of the kiss. This was the start of something special, she knew it. _She_ _ just knew it. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to @dovahtobi, @alwayssinnarnia and @ravenclawwritr on tumblr for beta-ing and just being so nice about my writing. It really means a lot and all your help was amazing. This fic was written as part of @hogwartsonline's O.W.Ls September event for the prompt, 'I've seen you around campus/town/etc and we've never spoken but I follow you on twitter and god are you hilarious. Wanna hang out some time?' which I definitely took some (read:many) liberties with! But I had so much fun writing it. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Find me on tumblr @martelldoran!


End file.
